The Secret in the Cellar is a Webcomic based on an authentic forensic case of a recently discovered 17th Century body. Using graphics, photos, and online activities, the Webcomic unravels a mystery of historical, and scientific importance. Online sleuths can analyze artifacts and examine the skeleton for the tell-tale forensic clues that bring the deceased to life and establish the cause of death. The Secret in the Cellar

Hero is starting sixth grade in a new school. She’s used to it, the starting over, but being used to it doesn’t make it any easier. Having a weird first name doesn’t help either. On the first day of school when the teacher calls Hero’s name, somebody shouts out, “that’s my dog’s name,” which begins Hero’s downward slide into misery at school.

Things take a turn for the better when Hero meets her elderly neighbor, Mrs. Roth, who just happens to be friends with the cutest boy in the eighth grade, Danny Cordova. What Hero doesn’t know is that Mrs. Roth has a secret, a big secret. The secret is sparkly, large, can be made into jewelry…and is worth a fortune. The thing is, Mrs. Roth doesn’t know exactly where it is, all she has is a clue. Mrs. Roth decides that Hero and Danny are just the people to take the clue and launch an investigation of their own. But finding the diamond is only part of the mystery, because Mrs. Roth isn’t the only one with a secret, the diamond has one too. Author: Elise Broach

In this mystery, four scientists take a field trip to a national park to do some treasure hunting. At the visitor’s center, Butch, a park ranger, tells the team about a local legend. In 1864 a prospector, Rutherford Raleigh, had supposedly discovered a legendary gold vein. But soon after his discovery, Rutherford disappeared, along with his gold. Butch jokes it’s probably all just a tall tale…but is it? With your help, maybe this forensics team will be able to crack the case and find the missing gold.

12 year-old Julian is stuck at his Aunt and Uncle’s house for the summer while his mom is working in China. What’s worse, they are planning to send him to math camp…not regular summer camp or boy scout camp…math camp. Julian hates math. Julian gets the distinct impression that the purpose of math camp is to get him out of the house and somebody else’s problem.

When Julian meets an internet pen pal who is trying to keep his Uncle Sibley from cutting down a grove of redwood trees, Julian secretly heads to the redwoods instead of boarding the bus to math camp. Julian and his new friend Robin hatch a daring plan to save the redwoods from Julian’s Uncle’s company. If Julian thought he and his Uncle didn’t get along much before, just wait until they square off in the woods over some very, very valuable trees!

This one is a great kids against the establishment adventure. Julian and his friends find the right ways to fight against something they believe is wrong. How great that part of the fight is staying in a treehouse 30 feet off the ground and only accessible by ropes and pulleys! Author: S. Terrell French

After I read Operation Redwood I liked reading Redwoods by Jason Chin, a book that tells all about coastal redwoods. They are really unbelievable, mammoth trees that grow from a teeny, tiny seed. Some redwoods are over 2,000 years old. That means their seeds sprouted during the Roman Empire! If you like reading about kids making an effort to help the environment, try Scat and Flush – both very funny too. Judy Moody is a little bit younger kid trying to do the same thing.

Hazel and Ned live in an apartment in the city with their dad, an art dealer. They have just finished school and are looking forward to sleeping in and hanging out with nothing important to do. Then, their dad mysteriously leaves the country without saying goodbye and their apartment is burglarized. The thieves take everything from their father’s office and nothing else. Weird.

The kids decide their only choice is to contact their dad’s brother to see if they can stay with him for awhile, but when they arrive, they find that he too is out of town…but his house isn’t empty, it’s full of cousins Hazel and Ned didn’t even know existed!

The questions just keep piling up as the cousins reveal to Hazel and Ned things about their family they never knew. Then some creepy guys show up that Hazel and Ned are sure have ties to their father and the reason he left town so fast. It’s up to all the cousins to use their heads and unravel each mystery, even those mysteries that have been hidden within their family for years. There’s a castle and secret passages and cryptic messages – all the pieces for a fun and exciting mystery.